We Are In An Age Of Abundance

Should we care if brand new top of the line camera gear is creeping up?

Dixon Handshaw; Final portfolio presentation. I shot this on the fly with my 2015 Canon 5DsR and really ancient 24-105L wide open ISO 800. Strait out of camera with a “portrait” picture style.

I’ve written a few newsletters of this kind over the last few years. It’s time for a new one for a couple of reasons. The first reason is a lot of complaining about how the trade wars are inflating new camera gear. I’ll venture that camera gear, especially two brands I kind of care about, were getting out of control prior to any of that. One brand is one I’ve personally nit-picked about for more than a decade — Canon. There’s always been a Canon tax somewhat akin to the Apple tax. Yes, I’ve complained about that forever but in the end I paid it. The other brand I’ll point out is Fuji, these guys have gone into full-scale gouging or it seems that way. Mmmber when the XE series was the value proposition? Have you looked at the price of the XE-5. Really?

Come on Fuji, I for one am just not going for it, same goes for that strange beast of weird anti-feature super-small sensor X-less-than-half. I don’t even want to think of the actual Fuji camera I might care about if they ever release an X-Pro 4. You can bet that thing will be quite a bit north of two grand. Why might that be? Hmmm, well they have sent a signal that the X-100 line is definitely a luxury product, they’ve signaled that a new X-Pro is going well beyond that with the XE-5 pricing. Here’s the thing, I don’t really care. I ditched my X-Pro 3 and went back to the X-pro 4. I liked the viewfinder better which is the only reason for the existence of the X-Pro. I’ll assure you one of the new features will be a “better” EVF on any new X-Pro and of course a higher resolution sensor… don’t care.

Let’s take the photo at the top. I shot that with an obsolete Canon 5DsR and way more obsolete Canon 24-105 f/4L, yes the first one. Wide open, ISO 800, it’s fine, more than fine… but there’s more to it. Dixon (interview available here), uses the Canon R5, he also uses the Canon R8, a far less expensive camera along with a few of those really small, value priced RF lenses. I forget which one he used for which pictures but there’s no real marked difference between any of the shots in this portfolio. What’s more is I could have made any of those shots on the gear I was using to take that shot above and there would be no marked difference. I know this because I process a ton of images from all ages of gear. When and if he asks me if he should upgrade to the Mark II, I’ll tell him truthfully I wouldn’t but he already knows this.

Superfluous screenshot of the 5DsR at 100% magnification in the far, far corner of that ancient 24-105 f/4L of used and abused ISO 800 shot that is perfectly fine for a lens that is “bad in the corners” with a camera that is useless above ISO 100. No tricky AI noise reduction or anything like that… On a budget, want an opinion on what to buy… just ask. Just don’t ask about fast super-tele’s they’ve always been sky high, always will be. Get closer, the pictures will be better anyway ;-)

If you take things like the new super-resolution and AI noise reduction features into account, this becomes even more true of the narrowing gap of who cares. Personally I find the best of the “obsolete” optical viewfinder gear a better overall experience for general photography and if you give a crap about video anything recent mirrorless a viable choice for far less money. Enjoy the age of abundance and revel in the glut of gear many are ignoring now. Go for the best of the tried-and-true last gen stuff. You’ll thank me later and maybe even rediscover the joy of some of the things you forget you liked.

I didn’t realize this solidly until a couple of years ago but somewhere around 2015 I stopped caring. I am now completely deprogrammed from the “must have the new model” camera. That programming all started with auto-focus film cameras. It became more acute with immature digital cameras. Now in 2025, it’s been a long time since I’ve owned a new camera. I have no need, more over none of the newest cameras have had any influence on any of my photography. Most cameras I own at this point I’ve bought used for less than half the price it cost when new. The last one I purchased new was in 2015-2016, I’d have to look at the receipt. The same goes for lenses, except for two which happen to be cheap-y lenses rather than the best-est in the line.

I have more cameras than I need and all of them are fine. Better than fine. Here’s a list:

• A Canon 5DsR and an identical 5Ds (both purchased new because I’m an idiot)

• A Fuji X-Pro 2 which is down-graded from the X-Pro 3 (dumb mistake prior to realizing the reality we live in and a better EVF wasn’t that much better but the OVF was worse).

• A Leica M10 purchased used because it was a DEAL and I promised I’d get a digital M as soon as it was the same size as my film M. A needless spend but I did promise, how was I to know they’d actually do that.

• A Canon R6 purchased used for less than half of the new price, to make a few videos here and there but is a perfectly fine stills camera since I usually do both and don’t feel like carrying two cameras.

That’s it, a lot but not a ton of money compared to if I upgraded any or all of them to the latest greatest. These are “old cameras” by most standards. It doesn’t matter in my output no matter if that’s digital or print. All of them will do what I need. More than I need in most cases. So if they all do more than I need why do I have so many? Because I don’t buy them new and I finally understand what I like and what I don’t like. EVF’s suck, I don’t like using them, they are highly unpleasant which affects me negatively far more than frame rate, or eye detect, or another stop of dynamic range or yet another stop of high-ISO “usability”. None of them produce objectionable “noise”. I don’t care if my ISO 6400+ shots in the dark look like they were shot at ISO 50 in broad daylight.

The real bonanza is not in the cameras, it’s in the glass. I do not buy full lens kits for special purpose cameras. I have two lenses for my M and two lenses for my X-Pro 2, and two lenses for my R6. None of those are brand new except for the RF cheap-y silver ring 50mm and 35mm compact but large aperture bargains for the R6. All of the EF glass I have for my favorite go-to 2015 5DsR/5Ds I’ve either had for-ever-er or I snipe fantastic deals on used EF glass that is superlative, or good enough, or I like to use for next to nothing prices. As a bonus they can do double duty on the R6.

Here’s the bottom line, the newest stuff is not going to change much compared to the last generation. Lust-worthy older generations of glass is more than fine and dirt cheap. All of us live in an age of ultra-abundance of no-excuse gear at bargain basement prices. Take advantage of it, especially for “special case” uses. I’ll bet you’ll find zero difference in actual use and production of great images. Just one example of a lens I’d never, ever, never buy, entirely due to how much I’d use it — the awesome never been seen before mind-boggling Canon EF 11-24/4L lens.

I’m actually eyeballing these lately given they can now be had for sub $1000 prices in great condition. You can find them all day, every day for about a grand. A short while ago these were approaching three-thousand bucks. I’m fine with my ancient 17-40 but if I were super into super-wides I’d grab this in a heartbeat. Third party “obsolete” glass is even cheaper but much of it still great. Forget the edge case testing. The newer versions of the same lens even in older mounts like the 35/1.4L vs the II version were rarely worth the upgrade, they are always bigger with not much visible difference even in “test conditions”. Don’t fret if it’s not made any more, who cares.

Just about anyone can afford whatever they want on a shoestring budget now, given the glut of “obsolete” fantastic gear available. Trust me, you might even enjoy using it more in most of the actual conditions use find yourself in. Want evidence? Wanna know what is becoming the must-have feature of the over-priced Fuji XE-5? It’s the “OVF” simulation available as an exclusive feature. I’ll one up that for those Fuji shooters that forgot they can buy two 5DsR, or three 5DmkIII, or a bunch of D750’s, or D810’s, or D850’s for less money… they have a REAL OVF that will smoke that simulation and take the same or better pictures.